1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to medical vials which contain medicines. More particularly the invention relates to medical vials which have rubber puncture pads in the lids for insertion of cannulae of hypodermic syringes for retraction of the medicine contained therein. More particularly the invention relates to an adapter for insertion through the rubber puncture pad which allows the use of a syringe without using a cannula.
2. Related Information
The advent of the AIDS virus has focused attention on diseases which are transmitted by contact with contaminated blood. One source of contaminated blood is the exposed cannula on a hypodermic syringe, catheters and the like. Many devices are now available on the market to reduce the likelihood of such contact. More particularly there have been devices for retracting the needles of hypodermic syringes into the barrel after use as exemplified in my own U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,790,822; 4,950,251 and 5,152,750. Additionally the insertion cannula of a catheter has also been made retractable as in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,049. A blood drawing device with a retractable needle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,885.
Medications are often shipped in vials or bottles which have a cover which includes a rubber puncture pad for insertion of a cannula. Generally the cannula is inserted through the puncture pad and the fluid medicine withdrawn up into the barrel of a piston syringe by action of the piston. As long as the medicine is to be injected into a patient directly utilizing the cannula the practice cannot be modified. However, often the medication is to be injected into a solution being administered intravenously. In the case of the intravenous administration the cannula is usually inserted through another puncture pad on a Y connection or "piggy back" included in the intravenous injection apparatus. Needleless systems are now being developed wherein the syringe itself may be directly attached to the Y connector. See for example my own patent application Ser. No. 08/157,306 filed Nov. 26, 1993.
The one remaining part of the needleless system is a method and apparatus for transferring the liquid in the vial to the syringe without a cannula. It is a feature of the present invention that the transfer of liquid from a vial having a rubber puncture pad to a piston syringe may be effected without the use of a cannula. It is a further feature that when used in combination with my earlier invention disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/157,306 that the liquid may be transferred from the vial to the patient without the use of a sharp cannula.